Super Bowl notebook: Manningham back, but will not play

Wednesday

Jan 30, 2013 at 12:01 AMJan 30, 2013 at 9:51 AM

NEW ORLEANS - Mario Manningham hobbled into the Superdome stands on crutches, found an out-of-the-way seat and watched his San Francisco 49ers teammates go through media-day frenzy on the field below, his emotions mixed.

NEW ORLEANS — Mario Manningham hobbled into the Superdome stands on crutches, found an out-of-the-way seat and watched his San Francisco 49ers teammates go through media-day frenzy on the field below, his emotions mixed.

It has been nearly two weeks since the receiver underwent reconstructive surgery on his left knee, and almost a year since he made the catch of his life in the New York Giants’ Super Bowl victory.

Manningham — a native of Warren who played collegiately at Michigan — had hoped to be playing on the New Orleans turf on Sunday, when the 49ers face the Baltimore Ravens in the franchise’s first Super Bowl in 18 years.

Instead, he’ll be doing what he did yesterday: watching.

“This is different for me,” he said. “I’m not down; I just wish I could help my team.”

It’s hardly how Manningham envisioned it when he left the Giants and headed west to play for the team he helped defeat in last year’s NFC championship game.

But simply getting back to the Super Bowl, with the same team or a different one, is a rarity.

“I know that my team is going to win it,” Manningham said.

Lewis ducks deer talk

Of all the topics that retiring Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis wanted to talk about, deer-antler spray was not on the list.

He declined to directly address any detailed questions about a Sports Illustrated report that he sought help from a company that makes the unorthodox product to speed up his recovery from a torn right triceps. Lewis was the NFL’s leading tackler in the playoffs after missing 10 regular-season games with the injury.

Sports Illustrated reported that SWATS owner Mitch Ross recorded a call with Lewis hours after the linebacker was injured in October. According to the report, Lewis asked Ross to send him deer-antler spray and pills, among other products made by the company.

The magazine said that Lewis acknowledged asking Ross for “some more of the regular stuff” on the night of the injury and that he has been associated with the company “for a couple of years through (former Ravens quarterbacks coach) Hue Jackson.”

Two years ago, Jackson — then coach of the Oakland Raiders —stopped endorsing SWATS because his ties to the company violated NFL rules.

“That was a 2-year-old story that you want me to refresh … so I won’t even speak about it,” Lewis said yesterday. “Every test I ever took in the NFL, there’s never been a question of if I ever even thought about using anything. So to even entertain stupidity like that …”

Moss wants more

Last week, Ravens safety Ed Reed said he plans to come back for another season. Yesterday, 49ers receiver Randy Moss said he wants to return, too.

“I’ve thought about it,” he said. “I do want to play another year.”

Moss, in his 14th season, has seen limited playing time, with 28 catches for 434 yards and three TDs, plus five catches for 71 yards in the playoffs.

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